A Survey of Television Reporters' Views Concerning Public Relations Practitioners' Demonstrated Knowledge of Their Technical Needs and Desires (open access)

A Survey of Television Reporters' Views Concerning Public Relations Practitioners' Demonstrated Knowledge of Their Technical Needs and Desires

This study determined attitudes held by television reporters nationwide toward PR practitioners' demonstrated knowledge of the technical side of television news. Findings. that emerged from the study were: 1. Television reporters were undecided whether practitioners needed an educational background in PR, and believed they needed an educational but not a professional background in television reporting. 2. They believed practitioners knew too little and should improve their knowledge, and that practitioners' employers would benefit therefrom. 3. They valued the assistance of practitioners. 4. There were moderate degrees of off-the-job contact and interest therein. 5. They divided evenly on the question concerning practitioners' specific demonstrated knowledge of the technical side of television news.
Date: May 1976
Creator: Tomlinson, Don E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Democrat Years: A Growing Process (open access)

The Democrat Years: A Growing Process

Changes of ownership, a seeming lack of interest in history, several deaths, and a fire prompted this study into the history of The Weatherford Democrat. Data for the thesis came from back issues of The Democrat, Ayer Directory of Newspapers and Periodicals, letters from former publishers, and personal observations and experiences of the writer, who worked on the paper 14 years. All but about a dozen years of the back issues are available. The thesis is written in chronological order, dating from the beginning in 1895 to 1967, when the Donrey Media Group gained control, ending local ownership. The Democrat is the survivor of more than 20 newspaper ventures in the city and is still the principal county paper.
Date: August 1977
Creator: Vandagriff, Jon R.
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Readership Survey of the Denton Record-Chronicle (open access)

A Readership Survey of the Denton Record-Chronicle

The purposes of this study were to determine the characteristics of the subscribers to the local community newspaper, to determine what the subscribers read most and what they read the least in the local publication, and to determine the role of the small newspaper within the metropolitan area.
Date: December 1973
Creator: Jones, Gregory Morgan
System: The UNT Digital Library
News Magazine Use Of and Attitudes Toward Leaks in their Coverage of the Decline and Fall of Spiro T. Agnew (open access)

News Magazine Use Of and Attitudes Toward Leaks in their Coverage of the Decline and Fall of Spiro T. Agnew

This study is a content analysis of the coverage in Time, Newsweek, and U. S. News & World Report on Spiro Agnew from August 13 to October 22, 1973, and is concerned with the use of leaks as determined by analyzing the levels of attribution and the attitudes of the magazines toward leaks. All three magazines used approximately equivalent amounts of material from concealed sources. Time and Newsweek defended the use of leaks; U. S. News & World Report attacked their use. The perils inherent in using information from concealed sources make it necessary to consult as many sources as feasible when following a controversial story.
Date: August 1977
Creator: Fredd, James B.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Development of Business Week Magazine (open access)

The Development of Business Week Magazine

This study explains the development of Business Week from its beginning in 1929 to 1975 and its changes over this forty-five-year period in format, content and editors. The study shows how Business Week developed, reflecting the history of American business, industry, labor, and the rise of the consumer, and recorded the growth and changes in the magazine's format, news departments, services and features, and staff. The study traces the development of Business Week in three periods, 1929, 1930-1950, and 1955-1975; and concludes that Business Week is the leading magazine publication in the business press. The sources of data for this study primarily include the executives of Business Week and the magazine itself.
Date: December 1977
Creator: Stockard, Krista Lynn
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Iconoclast: a Readership Survey and a Study of the Historical Evolution of an Underground Newspaper (open access)

The Iconoclast: a Readership Survey and a Study of the Historical Evolution of an Underground Newspaper

The problem of this study was an audience analysis of Dallas' weekly underground newspaper Iconoclast. A readership survey was mailed to 200 randomly selected subscribers to Iconoclast. Data were taken from the ninety useable questionnaires of those returned. The study is organized into four chapters. Chapter I discusses problems, procedures, introductory material and recent and related studies. Chapter II is a history of Iconoclast. Chapter III is an analysis of data. Chapter IV presents summary, conclusions, and recommendations. The data revealed the typical subscriber as having a mean age of 28.7, some college education, and higher than $10,000 yearly income. He obtains both exclusive and supplementary information from Iconoclast, and considers it an important but biased news source.
Date: May 1976
Creator: Wells, Richard H.
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Proposed Technical Communication Degree Program for Texas Colleges and Universities (open access)

A Proposed Technical Communication Degree Program for Texas Colleges and Universities

This investigation is concerned with the problem of Texas employers' inability to hire adequately trained technical communication personnel because Texas universities and colleges do not offer a bachelor's degree program for that career field. This study contains the results of five separate surveys that investigate the backgrounds and training of present technical communication personnel and the training desired by supervisory personnel. The study also recommends a bachelor's degree program in technical communication with three technological specialties: electronics, mechanical, and chemical/petroleum. Anticipated problems in setting up such a degree program and possible solutions to the problems are discussed in the study. The suggested freshman and sophomore curriculum could be used as a guideline for a junior college associate program.
Date: May 1978
Creator: Walker, Ronald O.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Dallas Morning News Editorial Cartoonists: Influences of John Knott on Jack "Herc" Ficklen and William McClanahan (open access)

Dallas Morning News Editorial Cartoonists: Influences of John Knott on Jack "Herc" Ficklen and William McClanahan

This problem's investigation deals with gauging the artistic influence, if any, pioneer editorial cartoonist John Knott had on his successors, Ficklen and McClanahan. Information was gathered through interviews and the pages of the Dallas Morning News. Organization is as follows: introduction, biography and art of Knott, biography and art of Ficklen, biography and art of McClanahan, summary and conclusion. The study found minimal artistic influence by Knott on the cartoons of Ficklen and McClanahan. Compared to Knott, Ficklen and McClanahan had different art backgrounds, cartoon styles, personal and political beliefs. Knott's successors admired different artists, drew during a different editorial page emphasis and had more freedom in cartoon selection than Knott did. Neither Ficklen nor McClanahan listed Knott as an artistic influence.
Date: August 1978
Creator: Darden, Robert F.
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Study of the Attitudes of Journalism Students in Dallas High Schools Toward Journalism Careers (open access)

A Study of the Attitudes of Journalism Students in Dallas High Schools Toward Journalism Careers

The purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes of journalism students in Dallas high schools toward the meanings and images of journalism careers. Eleven out of eighteen Dallas high schools participated. A total of 211 respondents, 145 females and 66 males, completed the questionnaire. The first part of the analysis involved the comparison through percentage tables illustrating the similarities and differences of the groups. The second part of the analysis involved the semantic differential scales and the mean profile comparisons for the groups. Although the seven branches of journalism did differ significantly from one another, the male and female subjects did not differ significantly in their meanings of the concepts.
Date: December 1976
Creator: Cates, Judy M.
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Editorial Reaction of Texas Daily Newspapers to Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the New Deal, 1932-1938 (open access)

The Editorial Reaction of Texas Daily Newspapers to Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the New Deal, 1932-1938

The objective of this study is to identify newspapers who supported or opposed portions of the New Deal from 1932 to 1938. Nine newspapers from various geographic areas were consulted. Chapter II discusses the 1932 campaign, in which all newspapers supported Roosevelt. Chapter III discusses the First New Deal, in which widespread support was evidenced. Chapter IV discusses the Second New Deal, in which criticism appeared. Chapter V discusses the 1936 campaign, in which only one newspaper opposed Roosevelt. Chapter VI discusses three post-1936 issues. The study determined that Texas newspapers became more critical during the 1930s. The central hypothesis, that urban newspapers were more critical of urban measures and rural newspapers of rural measures, was rejected.
Date: May 1977
Creator: Sellers, Steven A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Analysis of Magazine News and Editorial Coverage of the 1973 Chilean Military Coup (open access)

An Analysis of Magazine News and Editorial Coverage of the 1973 Chilean Military Coup

The study focused on the positive or negative direction shown in 57 articles from ten English-language magazines covering the 1973 military coup in Chile, September 1 to December 31, 1973, inclusive. Magazines chosen were from the fields of news, religion, opinion, and business. Direction was determined by comparing individual thought units within articles against a category table comprising mutually exclusive pairs of thought units. Directional value of each article was determined by positive and negative ratios. Results showed a wide variation in scores, with news magazines adhering most closely to the objective ideal. Recommendations for further study included long-term study of single magazines or classes of magazines for direction, and an expanded mathematical analysis.
Date: August 1976
Creator: Hunnicutt, Robert W.
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Analysis of Community Attitudes Toward the "Bowie News" as a News-Advertising Medium (open access)

An Analysis of Community Attitudes Toward the "Bowie News" as a News-Advertising Medium

This study measured attitudes of newspaper staff members, advertisers, subscribers, and power structure members toward the Bowie News as a news and advertising medium. Three hypotheses were tested: that members of the power structure would have a more favorable attitude toward the Bowie News than other readers; that the Bowie News would play an active role as an instrument of the power structure; and that all four publics would differ in their perception of the newspaper's role in getting information to the community. The hypotheses were tested by a t test and rejected. Publics' attitudes were homogeneous. It was concluded that the Bowie News reflects consensus opinion within the community and is a trusted news source.
Date: May 1977
Creator: Whitfield, James Daniel
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Critical Examination of "The Echo": Prison Publication of the Texas Department of Corrections (open access)

A Critical Examination of "The Echo": Prison Publication of the Texas Department of Corrections

The problem this investigation deals with is how The Echo functions as a communication vehicle within the TDC. Information was gathered through visits, interviews and a questionnaire. Organization is as follows: Chapter I, introduction, Chapter II, history and development; Chapter III, analysis of questionnaire data; Chapter IV, content; Chapter V, summary and conclusions. The study found that The Echo is often the sole source of TDC information to inmates, frequently aids administrators in providing inmates with information, provides an outlet for creativity, and enjoys little censorship. The report concludes that The Echo is an effective information medium, and that future study is possible in the role of the prison press in influencing rehabilitation, its contact with the outside public, and in inmate-produced magazines and journals.
Date: May 1977
Creator: Hadeler, David A.
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Study of the Sources of Power Demonstrated by Houston Harte, Texas Newspaper Owner (open access)

A Study of the Sources of Power Demonstrated by Houston Harte, Texas Newspaper Owner

In fifty years, Houston Harte guided an organization that grew from one afternoon daily to a chain of nineteen newspapers in six states, and one television station. Much of the civic activity in San Angelo, his hometown, revolved around Harte from 1930 until 1970. He knew many politicians, such as Lyndon Johnson, and was willing to ask their help. Harte's major contributions were retaining Goodfellow Air Force Base's active status, helping San Angelo College attain four-year status, and influencing General Telephone Company of the Southwest to locate its headquarters in San Angelo. His numerous other projects were of lesser magnitude. This study probes Harte's sources of power, examining why he was successful in getting the projects he wanted for his community.
Date: August 1978
Creator: Straach, Kathy H.
System: The UNT Digital Library
An Evaluation of the Contributions of the "Wichita Falls Times" in the Development and Progress of Wichita Falls, Texas, from 1907 to 1976 (open access)

An Evaluation of the Contributions of the "Wichita Falls Times" in the Development and Progress of Wichita Falls, Texas, from 1907 to 1976

The purpose of this study was (1) to trace the contributions of the newspaper to the civic improvement and economic growth of Wichita Falls; (2) to trace the contributions of the publishers; and (3) to trace the development of the Wichita Falls Times from 1907, when it began as a daily, to 1976, when it sold to Harte-Hanks Communications Inc.
Date: May 1979
Creator: Zajac, Patricia
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Study of the Professional and Educational Backgrounds of the Photography Teachers in the Texas Secondary Schools (open access)

A Study of the Professional and Educational Backgrounds of the Photography Teachers in the Texas Secondary Schools

To determine professional and educational backgrounds of photography teachers in Texas secondary schools, a questionnaire was sent to all eighty-seven. Sixty-five responded. The study found that the majority (a) were not certified to teach industrial arts as required by the state; (b) taught only three classes of photography; (c) did not handle publication photography; (d) had less than the required twelve hours of photography education; (e) had some professional experience; and (f) planned to continue their photography education although their school systems did not require it. The study (a) concluded that students receive a basic, technical education in photography, but the program suffers from lack of money and administrative support; (b) recommended that the state agency reevaluate its approach to and implementation of the program.
Date: August 1978
Creator: Cloer, Theresa Udd
System: The UNT Digital Library
Analysis and Evaluation of the Role of Public Relations in Leasing Dallas Petroleum Center (open access)

Analysis and Evaluation of the Role of Public Relations in Leasing Dallas Petroleum Center

The problem in this study was to discover if the public relations program of the Dallas Petroleum Center was useful in leasing and if the program played a significant role in a leasing increase. The study was carried out by describing the development of the building project, by analyzing the planning and execution of the public relations program, by testing the program's effectiveness, and by drawing conclusions about the program and by making recommendations for this specific program and for office leasing in general. The effectiveness of the program was tested by questionnaires and interviews. The public relations program proved to be an effective tool in leasing office space; and a similar program was recommended for other buildings.
Date: May 1977
Creator: Ainsworth, Doris Stewart
System: The UNT Digital Library
The Influence of Al Panzera Upon Sports Photography at Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Newspapers (open access)

The Influence of Al Panzera Upon Sports Photography at Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Newspapers

This problem's investigation deals with the influence of sports photographer Al Panzera upon staff photographers at four major metropolitan newspapers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Information was gathered through interviews, periodicals, and the pages of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The study found Panzera to be influential in varying degrees upon all photographers interviewed. He proved most influential with beginners, especially in the 1940's and 1950's. He influenced advanced photographers to a limited extent. Areas of influence included his techniques, abilities, personality, and tenure with Star-Telegram.
Date: August 1979
Creator: Wilhite, Ben W.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Ray P. Holland, Editor and Conservationist (open access)

Ray P. Holland, Editor and Conservationist

The problem involved in this study was to determine the success or failure of the use of the editorial in achieving a goal, specifically, editorials by Ray P. Holland in favor of the Migratory Bird Conservation Act of 1929 and the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act of 1934. Editorials from the Bulletin of the American Game Protective Association and Field and Stream were classified into categories to show an editorial position over a selected time period. Material from the permanent collection of the Holland library at Wesleyan University and family information was used to record a biography of Holland's achievements. The study shows that Holland's contributions in journalism will stand as a benchmark to ensuing generations of journalists who seek to realize their goals through the proper use of the editorial.
Date: May 1977
Creator: Holland, Linda R.
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Critical Evaluation of Selected Public Relations Functions of the Dallas Police Department Public Information Office (open access)

A Critical Evaluation of Selected Public Relations Functions of the Dallas Police Department Public Information Office

The problem of this study was to determine how well the public information office of the Dallas Police Department performed in three public relations areas: staff consultation, employee communication, and press relations. Interviews were conducted with the command staff of the Dallas Police Department and with nine mass media representatives who had regular contact with both the police department and the public information office. Their answers were compared with public relations principles taken from literature in both the general public relations and the police public relations fields to see if the public information office was succeeding or failing in performing its staff-consultation, employee-communication, and press-relations functions.
Date: August 1973
Creator: Hilbig, John E.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Journalism Education: a Survey of CIty Editors' Attitudes (open access)

Journalism Education: a Survey of CIty Editors' Attitudes

This study determined attitudes held by metropolitan city editors in Texas toward current journalism instruction in colleges and universities. An open-ended questionnaire was mailed to city editors of newspapers in Texas with circulation over 50,000.
Date: August 1973
Creator: McAda, Judith C.
System: The UNT Digital Library
Exposure to and Attitudes Toward the Mass Media of Students at Sam Houston High School (open access)

Exposure to and Attitudes Toward the Mass Media of Students at Sam Houston High School

This study was concerned with determining the amount of exposure high school students have to mass media and their attitudes toward news. The purposes of this study were to find how much time high school students devote to newspapers, radio, television, and magazines for entertainment and information, to discover which publications or channels students are most interested in and why; to find out specifically what young people read, listen to, and watch; to discover how most of them get their news information; and to determine positive and negative feelings toward media news.
Date: August 1973
Creator: Davis, Lina Jean
System: The UNT Digital Library
A Study of Thirty Newspaper-in-the-classroom Programs (open access)

A Study of Thirty Newspaper-in-the-classroom Programs

This study looks at thirty of the largest Newspaper in the Classroom (NIC) programs being operated in the United States. The researcher employed the questionnaire survey method to achieve quantitative and qualitative results.
Date: August 1973
Creator: Warrick, Shirley Malinda
System: The UNT Digital Library
Sepia (open access)

Sepia

This study of Sepia magazine was researched as a historical project in order to trace the progress of a twenty-five-year-old Negro publication begun as a sensational news sheet and expanded to a pictoral, entertaining magazine aimed at the middle-class black.
Date: May 1973
Creator: Ponder, Janace Pope
System: The UNT Digital Library